Freedom in final after strong 3rd quarter

Patriots rebound from bad 2nd quarter to top Pocono Mountain West.

March 01, 2006|By John Heilig Special to The Morning Call -- Freelance

Freedom High's girls went into the locker room at halftime of their District 11 Class 4A semifinal game at Nazareth High School after playing what may have been one of their worst quarters of the season, against Pocono Mountain West.

But they came out with renewed enthusiasm and played their kind of game, overcoming a six-point deficit and turning it into a 52-51 win.

The victory puts them into the district final against Parkland, which beat Pleasant Valley 58-38.

The Patriots (22-5) squandered an 11-8 first-quarter lead as the Panthers (21-5) changed defenses and Freedom couldn't answer.

The defensive shift took DeAnna Rayam out of the game for the Pates. Rayam had scored seven first-quarter points but was shut out in the second. She missed the only shot she took and pulled down two rebounds, half of her first-quarter total.

Nobody was able to pick up the slack either, as the Panthers also held Alex Berlin in check, holding her to one field goal and a pair of foul shots in the quarter.

Meanwhile, Kristin Boesenberg was hot for the Panthers, hitting a 3-pointer and registering eight points in the quarter.

"They weren't playing their game, which is to be patient," Freedom coach Kelly Mikulski said of her team's second-quarter performance. "I told them to take their time and not let them dictate the pace of play."

Mikulski's chat worked. Rayam scored the first four points in the third quarter and finished with 12. Freedom controlled the boards, outrebounding the Panthers 9-1 in the quarter.

"They were doubling up on me the whole game," Rayam said. "I just didn't get any good chances in the second quarter."

Berlin, the second part of Freedom's one-two punch, stepped in with a big game as well. She scored 15 points, had five rebounds and was a constant threat from outside.

The key, however, was the scoring of 5-4 junior Kristine Kelly, who didn't take a shot until the end of the third quarter. But when she shot, she hit. Kelly stepped to the foul line with Freedom trailing, 34-32. She went 1-for-2. After a Panther miss, she netted a 2-pointer to put the Patriots up 35-34, then hit another with 2.7 seconds left to give Freedom a more-comfortable 37-34 lead.

She then scored the first basket of the fourth quarter for a five-point Freedom lead. Then she went back to playing playmaker and didn't take another shot.

"Her shooting was so important," Mikulski added.

Pocono Mountain kept fighting back. The Panthers tied the score, 50-50, with 1:33 remaining on a Boesenberg bucket. But she fouled out with 40.2 ticks left, giving Rayam a chance to sink a pair of foul shots, which she did.

Pocono's Janet Fiki was fouled but hit only one of two shots with 9.4 seconds left. She fouled out with 5.7 seconds left, but Emily Gibson missed the front end of a one-and-one.

Cardiss Jackman pulled down the rebound for the Panthers, who called time out with 2.3 seconds left. Adrianna Johnson's desperation 3-pointer from near halfcourt at the buzzer missed.

Rayam led all scorers with 24 points and Berlin added 15 for the Patriots. Boesenberg led the Panthers with 22 points. Fiki added 11.

"We gave it our best shot," Pocono Mountain West coach Rose Haller said. "But with just 2.5 seconds left, we really didn't have much of a chance to win. I didn't want Boesenberg and Fiki both on the bench in the final seconds."

"This was supposed to be the year for Freedom," Mikulski said. "We wanted to get into the final game and not have to win to make states. Now we can relax in the championship game and have some fun."

Mikulski was concerned about an injury to Alexa Detzi, who went down with 3:03 remaining in the first half. She injured her right knee, which had been injured previously.

"She might be able to play on Friday," she said, "but if she can't, she'll have almost 10 days to rest."